WE&ME Award: New Funding Award for ME/CFS Research in Austria

The newly established WE&ME Award, with €450,000 one of Austria’s most highly endowed privately funded research grants, supports excellent researchers in their work in the field of ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome). The aim is to generate basic research findings and improve the health and lives of thousands of patients. According to current estimates, up to 80,000 people in Austria suffer from ME/CFS to varying degrees. The causes are still largely unknown and therapeutic approaches are only just beginning to emerge.

Philanthropic commitment to research into post-viral syndromes

With this donation, the WE&ME Foundation is strengthening its commitment to science and research. Following a successful cooperation with the WWTF in 2024, the nationwide WE&ME Award offered in cooperation with the alpha+ Foundation of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) will further strengthen research in this field: National and international researchers are invited to submit proposals for innovative projects or studies at Austrian universities or non-university research institutions. The WE&ME Foundation will fund a project or study with a WE&ME Award of up to €450,000. Other projects deemed worthy of funding due to their scientific excellence will be funded by the FWF.

“Doctors and politicians have been telling us for years that more research is needed. With the WE&ME Award, we are providing the impetus needed to realize flagship research projects in Austria. This research will facilitate the development of treatments, enabling appropriate care for patients all over the world. The cooperation with the FWF strengthens Austria’s reputation as a research location and is an invitation to researchers from all over the world to conduct their groundbreaking research in cooperation with Austrian universities and research institutions. We want to set a positive example with our WE&ME Foundation,” explain Gabriele and Gerhard Ströck, founders of the WE&ME Foundation. “ME/CFS not only causes unbearable suffering to patients and their families, but also significant economic damage. Further public investment in science, research, and therapy is essential,” they emphasize.

“ME/CFS is a serious condition with a massive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people. At the same time, it is a field with a great need for scientific research. The WE&ME Award sends a strong signal for more visibility, more awareness, and more hope. I would like to thank the WE&ME Foundation for this extraordinary commitment – initiatives like this not only strengthen research, but also open up real-life perspectives for patients. As Minister of Science, I wholeheartedly support this important cooperation with the FWF, because research is the key to better medical care,” said Minister of Science Eva-Maria Holzleitner at the donation ceremony.

“We are still missing so much of the fundamental scientific knowledge we need to better understand complex medical conditions. The cooperation with the WE&ME Foundation is now creating important opportunities: Researchers in Austria can make a significant contribution to paving the way for improved medical care. I would like to thank the Ströck family for their commitment. I encourage all researchers in this field to submit innovative research proposals – and I assure you that the FWF will support all excellent projects that are not covered by the private donation,” says Ursula Jakubek, Deputy Chair of the alpha+ Foundation and Executive Vice-President of the FWF.

Investments in research secure medical care in the long term

There is a vast need need for research into post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS) such as ME/CFS, not least because new scientific findings in this area have a direct impact on healthcare policy. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, the medical term for ME/CFS, is a severe, as yet incurable multisystem syndrome that severely restricts quality of life. Young, previously healthy people are often particularly affected, finding themselves suddenly torn from their everyday lives. There was little public awareness for this debilitating syndrome until the coronavirus pandemic and the increased incidence of long Covid as a possible secondary disease.

Excellent basic research focused on finding a cure for ME/CFS

The funding is aimed at research focused on deciphering the pathomechanism and/or the effects and possible treatments of ME/CFS or post-acute infection syndromes with the main symptom PEM (post-exertional malaise). The WE&ME Foundation is particularly interested in biomedical projects and studies. A prerequisite for studies is that patient cohorts fulfill the strict inclusion criteria according to the Canadian Consensus Criteria (CCC) and/or the International Consensus Criteria (ICC).

Awarded according to the highest scientific standards

Funding will be awarded in accordance with the FWF’s internationally recognized quality assurance procedure. The FWF relies on independent international reviewers to assess the research proposals submitted. The FWF Scientific Board makes a preliminary selection of eligible projects, then the WE&ME Foundation makes a final selection based on the Scientific Board’s recommendation.

Applications open in early July 2025

Applications can be submitted to the FWF from July to October 2025; funding decisions will be made in spring/summer 2026. Additional financial incentives make the WE&ME Award more attractive to researchers. Funding will allow researchers to carry out their project together with their group for up to four years at the highest international level.

About the WE&ME Foundation

The WE&ME Foundation (formerly TEMPI Foundation) was founded in 2020 by Gabriele and Gerhard Ströck and is based in Vienna. The Ströck family has been profoundly impacted by the devastating effects of ME/CFS, as two of their three sons suffer from the condition. This has inspired their unwavering determination to establish and support the WE&ME Foundation, which is committed to basic research in the field of ME/CFS. It aims to bring together and pool findings from research, medicine, and patient experience and create broad awareness to help achieve the necessary patient care. For further information, please see weandmecfs.org.

The Austrian Science Fund’s nonprofit alpha+ Foundation

With the alpha+ Foundation, the FWF was the first publicly funded research funding agency in Europe to establish a nonprofit foundation to channel philanthropy as a means of opening up additional opportunities for Austria’s researchers in basic research. The objective of the FWF’s alpha+ Foundation is to create new research grants based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and support the careers of highly talented young researchers. Currently, private donations allow the FWF to finance research projects worth €2.5 million each year.

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

The Austrian Science Fund FWF is Austria’s leading organization for funding all fields of basic and arts-based research. On the basis of rigorous peer review by international experts, the FWF supports excellent researchers and their ground-breaking ideas. The insights they gain make Austria a more attractive research location and create the broad knowledge base needed to face future challenges.